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Volume 13 - 2004 Issue 42 (19 Oct. 2004)

Repressive laws and governments remain the most serious obstacles to a free press in Central Asia and must be reformed first if independent media are to develop, a World Association of Newspapers (WAN) conference has concluded.

In occupied Iraq, journalists have become an increasingly unwelcome presence. Since January 2004, insurgents have abducted at least 20 journalists and US-led coalition authorities have shown an indifference to media safety concerns despite the deaths of close to 50 journalists and media staff since March 2003, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The death toll in the Philippines continues to mount. On 19 October 2004, radio host Eldy Gaginales was shot dead, becoming the eighth journalist killed this year, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have joined more than 40 leading intellectuals and human rights groups in calling on the African Union (AU) to adopt a pan-African treaty to protect freedom of expression and academic freedom.

One of the indicators of a free press is the degree to which journalists are able to protect their sources. In the United States, that privilege is being sorely tested, with prosecutors compelling more journalists to reveal their sources this year than in decades, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The African Press Network for the 21st Century (RAP 21), an initiative of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), has launched an online letter-writing campaign to protest the sentencing of journalist Paul Kamara to prison.

While Middle East news coverage is mostly focused on Iraq these days, "gross violations of press freedom" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are continuing and media are not paying enough attention to them, says a new report released by the International Press Institute (IPI).

The World Press Institute (WPI) is accepting applications from journalists around the world for the 2005 WPI Fellowships, which foster understanding about the role and responsibilities of a free press in a democracy.

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